It's Started

Here in the UK the General Election Campaign has started already, even though the election itself is not until 7th May.   We have had the major parties taking lumps out of each other on TV, Radio and in the press, I expect another five months of this until we decide that we don't really want any of them and once again get a coalition of politicians none us wanted to be in power.

I suspect that the tone of the campaign has already been set with arguments being about finances and who we trust with them, or to put it another way who are the best managers.   I suspect that the continuation of this argument is part of what puts people off politics and politicians here, yet I do not expect any of our leading MPs to talk about the fundamental principles that they hold, and that separate them from others.   The big argument should not be about who will manage the NHS better, but what is it for? not who will organise cuts best, but how big should government be?

The right hold a fundamental belief that Government should be as small as possible, with as many services as possible being run by the private sector, providing each service on a commercial basis, while the left have a fundamental belief that if not the means of production then certainly the provision of service should be in the hands of the workers.   However I cannot see the right admitting that they want to put the National Health Service into the management of private companies anymore than I can imagine the left planning to renationalise the railways, gas, electricity or waste collection.   My complaint is that they are just too disingenuous when the main platform seems to be that "the other guy will make you worse off than me."

And all this is before I start to rant about the culture of youth and the apparent importance of the leader being photogenic.   I am interested in politics (in both senses of the word interested) but I can understand why so many people aren't.   They see bland grey (mostly) men making bland grey statements as they appear to just meddle around the edges.  We need more honesty, more conviction and more courage. Bring Back the Big Beasts!